Lewis Hamilton reveals tense exchange with Ferrari boss after Miami Grand Prix mishap

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton reveals tense exchange with Ferrari boss after Miami Grand Prix mishap

Lewis Hamilton suffered a difficult Miami GP

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 6 May 2025 08:28 Updated: 16:03

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he had to tell Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur to 'calm down', after some tense moments with the F1 team during the Miami Grand Prix.

Having set the fastest lap of the race on his new medium tyres, Hamilton asked the team to let him past team-mate Charles Leclerc so that he could chase after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.

However, the team deliberated for four laps, before deciding to make the switch. The indecision clearly frustrated seven-time champion Hamilton, who sarcastically said on his team radio: "Have a tea break while you're at it," referring to how long it had taken to make the decision.

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Later on in the race, the team decided to swap the two cars back, with Leclerc finishing seventh and Hamilton one place further back in eighth. When reminded by engineer Riccardo Adami the gap to Carlos Sainz behind, Hamilton cheekily responded: "Do you want me to let him through as well?"

These comments have fed the narrative of Hamilton being frustrated with both his own performances, and the pace of the SF-25, with his move to the Maranello outfit not getting off to the best of starts.

Following the Miami GP, Hamilton revealed to media that Vasseur had come to speak to him after the race about the incidents over team radio.

"Fred came to my room. I just put my hand on his shoulder and was like, 'dude, calm down. Don't be so sensitive'," Hamilton said.

"I could have said way worse things on the radio. You hear some of the things others have said in the past.

"Some of it was sarcasm. Look, you've got to understand we're under a huge amount of pressure within the car. You're never going to get the most peaceful messages coming through in the heat of the battle. It was fine."

Ferrari drop further back in F1 fight

With their seventh and eighth-place finishes, Ferrari now appear to be in a battle for fourth in the constructors' championship with Williams, rather than being able to challenge the likes of Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull further up.

The arrival of seven-time world champion Hamilton was supposed to boost them towards championship success, while the 40-year-old was hoping to challenge for an eighth world title.

However, six race weekends are now gone, and Hamilton is down in seventh in the drivers' championship, and has not achieved a grand prix result better than fifth.

Vasseur said after the race on Hamilton's team radio outburst: "My concern is not that he has to speak with TV. It's that we need to be clear between us that, in this situation, he has to understand what was my feeling on the pit wall.

"He can trust me, I can trust him and the same with Charles, and when I have to take a decision, I'm taking a decision for Ferrari."

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Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz Kimi Antonelli